I just don't see Hilda Pierce (played by Ellie Haddington) doing this.
I see her breaking the official secrets act and going to the newspapers.
I think she is someone who would "go through channels".
This just seems too easy.
"We will bury you"-NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
I have the same notion. It's very unlike Hilda Pierce to do such dramatic things.
shareWhat happened was definitely something Hilda Pierce would want resolved. Whoever was responsible needed to be held accountable.
Thanks to Ellie Haddington's portrayal of Hilda the action she took was unexpected, but seems to fit within the story. Hilda Pierce always struck me as a character who carries a heavy sense of responsibility, to the job and the truth, yet was also carrying some personal burden of guilt, shame or both (very powerful motivators.) The flashback to the airfield seemed to a hint this could be a pivotal moment in Hilda Pierce's life.
Also the other individual's reaction when confronted in the present was likely part of the reason she knew the time had come. Going through channels was no longer an option?
I too disliked Hilda doing what she did, yet I believe it was the type of solution she had to use to insure the individuals responsible for the past paid for what one did and the other failed to do at the time. It probably wouldn't matter if one of them wasn't fully aware of what was taking place if Hilda felt it was that person's responsibility to know.
So we end up with a dramatic, and disturbing, ending.
Agreed, which I think is why Hilda and Foyle had such mutual respect for each other. They were both strong believers in justice. Hilda knew that the dead agents, and Sophie in Particular, would never receive justice. Sir Ian would never take responsibility, too many friends and protectors in high places, it would be a whitewash and also knowing how these things work in a dramatic sense Hilda herself would be cast out or killed for being a whistle blower. The top knobs do NOT like to be shown up (plus ça change). I think Hilda saw this as the only way to get justice for the dead agents and to punish Sir Ian. Her guilt was so overpowering that she felt her death would also be honourable. The promises she made to the families had all been broken (not her fault) and she saw she should pay a price too.
All very sad but in an age of honour and sacrifice, quite believable. What a wonderful woman.
'tler
I love Hilda---she is such a perfect counterpoint to Foyle.
Shout out to Ellie Haddington---we love you.
(I once had an Art History professor that was just like her---British, and commanding.)
"We will bury you"-NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
When I saw this episode, I remembered seeing a documentary on this very subject. It addressed the compromise of radio communications that resulted in the capture and death of so many brave people. What was so tragic was that the compromise was so apparent that no additional lives should have been risked. The documentary didn't resolve for certain whether the problems were due to double agents or simply not following their own security procedures.
In case you're interested in the actions of Vera Atkins, who was the real life person who worked with these women, this is how wiki describes her actions to obtain justice for the victims.
Atkins' efforts in looking for her missing "girls" meant not only did each now have a place of death, but by detailing their bravery before and after capture, she also helped to ensure that each (except Sonya Olschanezky, unknown to Atkins until 1947) received official recognition by the British Government, including the award of a posthumous George Cross to both Violette Szabo in 1946 and, especially due to Atkins's efforts, Noor Inayat Khan in 1949[25] (Odette Sansom, who survived Ravensbrück, also received the GC in 1946).
I Disagree......going to the newspapers is not her style. She is a patriot, and has signed the official secrets act. Her honor would not let her do it.
Going inside her own agency, special branch, wouldn't work, it would be brushed under the rug, maybe even approved of by someone.
The only honorable thing to do, since in her mind she bore some of the responsibility, was to take him out, both as a punishment and to prevent him in some other slimy office from doing something similar. The man had no honor.
He has no honor, can't be trusted not to do something else despicable to further his career, she is pesponsible, because they were her operations, her girls, in her mind she should have known something was wrong.
Only one way out. With Honor.
You nailed it. It's the honor and duty paradox she was 'caught' in. She knew something wasn't right, but the investigation for a leak or mole found nothing. Unlike some bureaucratic spy/ intelligence 'leaders' she cared about the agents she sent out, and losing so many so quickly HAD to be some sort of leak or break in the program's cover.
Yet she was also bound by her oath of secrecy. There was NO way she go 'white' with the information about the loss of so many agents without causing an extreme loss of cover for other possible agents and even other agencies without absolute belief that the 'leak' would be plugged. Given the influence of Woodhead, she had to have doubts about how it would be handled, and what exactly would happen once things came out.
She had to insure that the 'leak' was stopped because it was a serious weakness in Britain's intelligence community. Woodhead HAD to be eliminated or removed from ANY influence/ access to ALL of Britain's intelligence resources. Without a certainty that he would be removed and receive punishment, she had no other way except to take him out herself. Doing so would also give her release from the guilt she had carried since the girls were killed.
Thank you for your vote of confidence. They seem to get more rare all the time on IMDB, with people name-calling and hurling insults back and forth.
I love this site when it's used correctically, open minded exchange and rational discussion. I know our topics aren't earth shattering, but there seems to be less and less civility and mutual respect.
You see the same thing on Quora, which I also enjoy, but their rules and enforcement are pretty unforgiving, so some bad apples get weeded out.
Anyway, my thanks again.
I felt terribly sorry for her. She had devoted her life to dutiful public service. I think that she and the grey-haired man whose name escapes me, may have become close at one time but obviously she eschewed marriage in favour of her career and duty. It was also clear that she had few friends, not because she was disagreeable (far from it) but because she was busy helping to protect her country. Her inadvertent role in the deaths of nine operatives, and the betrayal by a man she clearly was fond of, would have caused her immense, insurmountable pain.
shareI agree with all you said, rdavies.
SkiesAreBlue